RTA-solicitor or not?

brayblue24

I know there's a heap of info here about the merits and otherwise of engaging a solicitor regarding personal injury claims from RTAs but I wonder is there anyone here who has actually experience of same.
Are they more of a help than a hindrance? With the advent of the injuries board in anyone's actual experience is it suffice to pursue the matter on ones own? Is a legal eagle an unnecessary expense and who really benefits?
I ask as I'm the position where I'll be instigating a claim shortly so all replies, either way, will be appreciated. Thanks

dharma200

You have to go through the injury board. You don't really need a solicitor for this but I would prefer to have one if I was claiming. The board may decide not to hear the case or the other party may refuse to engage, then you pursue them as before with a solicitor. I found this blog very informative.... http://www.mcgarrsolicitors.ie/2013/07/27/the-injuries-board-pitfalls/ I have no affiliation or dealings with this solicitor but spent a lot of time reading his log and found it helpful.... Hths... My own experience I I engaged a solicitor from the beginning, and a, glad I did as other party refused to deal with the board and thus now still in litigation six years later, but at least I fell withing the two years and was quite happy to not deal with the board after all I had read about the whole system and the who's and the whys of the board existence .

Squidgy Black

I suppose it all depends on what kind of compensation you're looking for. If it's just basic medical and some small repairs then you could probably just try and get the other party's insurance details and do it yourself.

If it's something a little more serious like replacement parts/bike, large medical bills and compensation for work missed etc, then get a solicitor in.

Red Belly

I used a solicitor after a RTA last year and would recommend it. The other party made a reasonable offer almost immediately and the solicitor managed to increase it a bit and get them to cover her fees. All done and dusted about four months from retaining the solicitor.

RB

Raam

For an RTA which I was involved in, I pursued on my own. No PIAB, no solicitor. Satisfied with the outcome.

griffin100

For a personal injury claim you must go through the injuries board first. You don't need a solicitor for this, but you will need to submit a medical report and the necessary fee. The other party are then contacted by the IB and the process starts. You won't need a solicitor unless the other side refuse to allow the IB to assess the claim or if any offer of compensation made by the IB is declined by either party. Then the IB gives you a letter of release and you can then take this letter to a solicitor. There is a time limit on the whole IB process so the sooner you make a submission the sonner you have a result. Involving solicitors always leads to increased costs and time in my experience.

Raam

griffin100 wrote: »

For a personal injury claim you must go through the injuries board first.

By "personal injury claim" do you mean something technical? I got a settlement without using PIAB. In fact, they didn't want to know. I rang them and they showed little interest based on what I told them, so I decided to do it on my own.

griffin100

Raam wrote: »

By "personal injury claim" do you mean something technical? I got a settlement without using PIAB. In fact, they didn't want to know. I rang them and they showed little interest based on what I told them, so I decided to do it on my own.

By personal injury I mean bodily injury for which you are seeking compensation / refund of medical expenses. If you are after compensation for the loss of preperty (eg a bike) then its not a case for PIAB.

Raam

griffin100 wrote: »

By personal injury I mean bodily injury for which you are seeking compensation / refund of medical expenses. If you are after compensation for the loss of preperty (eg a bike) then its not a case for PIAB.

In my case it was both.

Beasty

I used a solicitor for a (successful) claim a few years ago - it was to do with a "road quality" issue, and the claim was against a sub-contractor and the local authority

The sub-contractor refused to allow this to go to the PIAB. Hence having a solicitor on board was important. The subcontractor then went bust and my claim ended up being settled by the local authority - again outside the PIAB process but to my satisfaction

If it's a PIAB case it's not necessary to engage a solicitor, but if there are any complications it's always useful to be able to talk to someone who fully understands the options and processes

rollingscone

@OP

It depends on the extent and nature of the loss. It rarely does any harm to try the direct approach first.

If you'll be looking for anything difficult to quantify like pain and suffering you'll want expertise on your side.

Just beware, the recession tempted a lot of Conveyance and licensing specialists to try their hand at litigation. Avoid. Get a solicitor with a track record in pi litigation.

griffin100

Beasty wrote: »

I used a solicitor for a (successful) claim a few years ago - it was to do with a "road quality" issue, and the claim was against a sub-contractor and the local authority

The sub-contractor refused to allow this to go to the PIAB. Hence having a solicitor on board was important. The subcontractor then went bust and my claim ended up being settled by the local authority - again outside the PIAB process but to my satisfaction

If it's a PIAB case it's not necessary to engage a solicitor, but if there are any complications it's always useful to be able to talk to someone who fully understands the options and processes

All cases have to go to PIAB (or the IB as it now is) first. Only then can a defendant decline to allow the IB to assess it, then you can involve a solicitor. Some people like to involve them at all stages, some don't. Personally I wouldn't involve a solicitor at the IB stage but I have some experience in this area so understand how the game works.

In my case it was both.

I'm surprised at that, I've been sued via PIAB / IB for some ridiculous claims and alleged injuries (or at least my employers over the years have). The only areas of personal injury where IB decline to get involved in my experience are psychological injuries and scarring injuries (too hard to put values on these types of injuries).

Pro Hoc Vice

Raam wrote: »

By "personal injury claim" do you mean something technical? I got a settlement without using PIAB. In fact, they didn't want to know. I rang them and they showed little interest based on what I told them, so I decided to do it on my own.

PIAB is a Goverenment appointed and funded body. It has only one function, to put a value on a personal injury claim, it does not nor should it act for either party. If a person wants to claim then they submit an application to PIAB that's it, it is not for the injuries board to advise a person on their claim only to quantify any claim.

It is of course always possible to engage directly with a defendant or his insurance company and come to a settlement without any involvement of either lawyers or PIAB. I would not think it a good idea but if a person wishes and is happy with the outcome then fine.

brayblue24

Thanks a lot for the above replies folks.

In my case it's (probably) a replacement bike, medical expenses and loss of earnings. I reckon truthfully the other party will likely settle before it gets to the IB stage. If that's not satisfactory to me I'd be reasonably happy they'd abide by the IB decision.

My predicament is that the other party are, I feel, dragging their heels a little but for the sake of a short time frame I'm not sure I want a solicitor to be the main beneficiary in this. Don't get me wrong, I'm not pretending I need 24 hour care or anything but I was injured and an entire year's training went out the window because of this.

rollingscone

All a solicitor can do at this stage is write stern letters and make phone calls.

If there's an insurance company involved they should be keen to settle before costs go up.

What you say you're looking for is pretty easily quantified so send them copies of your invoices and give them your own deadline.

If the injury is soft tissue only at least one major motor insurer here offers a direct rehab scheme where they'll pay for a physio directly.

Raam

infosys wrote: »

It is of course always possible to engage directly with a defendant or his insurance company and come to a settlement without any involvement of either lawyers or PIAB. I would not think it a good idea but if a person wishes and is happy with the outcome then fine.

Aye, that's what I did. Worked out fine for me.

buffalo

infosys wrote: »

It is of course always possible to engage directly with a defendant or his insurance company and come to a settlement without any involvement of either lawyers or PIAB. I would not think it a good idea but if a person wishes and is happy with the outcome then fine.

It isn't when the Garda involved won't give you the details of the defendant, and tells you he'll only give them to your solicitor.

Raam

buffalo wrote: »

It isn't when the Garda involved won't give you the details of the defendant, and tells you he'll only give them to your solicitor.

That's a pain. The Garda who I dealt with (he was at the scene) could not have been more helpful.

Pro Hoc Vice

buffalo wrote: »

It isn't when the Garda involved won't give you the details of the defendant, and tells you he'll only give them to your solicitor.

Then tell the Garda you are representing your self as is your right and again ask him for the details. But I do agree its one if the many pitfalls a lay litigant will face.

ford2600

For straight forward matters I.e. not self employed, injury easily dealt with and resolved then with a good head on your shoulders it's an easy process.
If using solicitor then establish from outset cost, in writing.
If using one, get a good one. Most PI lawyers work on referrals and let them know you know that.
As someone involved professionally occasionally in legal system, focus on getting better, back to work etc rather than absolute maximum you can get out of it.
Too many people focus their energy on claim rather than their well being. That's a non professional observation btw

brayblue24

ford2600 wrote: »

As someone involved professionally occasionally in legal system, focus on getting better, back to work etc rather than absolute maximum you can get out of it.
Too many people focus their energy on claim rather than their well being. That's a non professional observation btw

I take your point. This accident happened some time ago. I'm only getting round to this now as I did exactly what you're saying first. It's not about getting what I can, it's more about ensuring that somebody else doesn't maximise it for their ends.
There's no issue with getting details etc. as in truth the whole thing is reasonably straightforward.

Pro Hoc Vice

brayblue24 wrote: »

I take your point. This accident happened some time ago. I'm only getting round to this now as I did exactly what you're saying first. It's not about getting what I can, it's more about ensuring that somebody else doesn't maximise it for their ends.
There's no issue with getting details etc. as in truth the whole thing is reasonably straightforward.

How long ago?

ford2600

brayblue24 wrote: »

I take your point. This accident happened some time ago. I'm only getting round to this now as I did exactly what you're saying first. It's not about getting what I can, it's more about ensuring that somebody else doesn't maximise it for their ends.
There's no issue with getting details etc. as in truth the whole thing is reasonably straightforward.

It wasn't a dig at you op, just a general observation.
With legal system the worse the injury the more complicated the case the more costs involved.
As a consequence your meeting people who don't necessarily want the injured party to get better, it may be subconscious, but it's there.

By all means get what your entitled to, you will have to fight for that. Insurance companies will chance their arm. At very least use threat of lawyer as leverage as far as negotiations go.

rollingscone

buffalo wrote: »

It isn't when the Garda involved won't give you the details of the defendant, and tells you he'll only give them to your solicitor.

If a Garda told me that at a scene I'd report him to his superintendent. Insurance details can be provided without giving any personal details of the other party beyond their name.

brayblue24

ford2600 wrote: »

It wasn't a dig at you op, just a general observation.

As a consequence your meeting people who don't necessarily want the injured party to get better, it may be subconscious, but it's there.

By all means get what your entitled to, you will have to fight for that. Insurance companies will chance their arm. At very least use threat of lawyer as leverage as far as negotiations go.

No prob ford, I didn't take it as such anyway.
In fact I couldn't agree more with the above

Dermot Illogical

rollingscone wrote: »

If a Garda told me that at a scene I'd report him to his superintendent. Insurance details can be provided without giving any personal details of the other party beyond their name.

+1. The inevitable result of eliminating the training budget.
You're entitled to those details, and entitled to them without having to incur the expense of employing a solicitor to get them. Ask for the contact details of the next person up the food chain if you get no satisfaction. Let them know you're keeping notes of requests and responses. Put it in writing for best results.

buffalo

rollingscone wrote: »

If a Garda told me that at a scene I'd report him to his superintendent. Insurance details can be provided without giving any personal details of the other party beyond their name.

Well at the scene I was a little busy being strapped into head huggers. But I didn't know what the protocol was, so when the man in the uniform told me he could only give these things to my solicitor, I went and got a solicitor.

brayblue24

By way of update I did not engage a solicitor and as the insurance company didn't appear to want to engage I lodged a claim with the Injuries Board. Within 24 hours of their receiving notification I had the insurance company on wanting to deal direct. Another day on from that and the figure was agreed upon.

Thanks for the assistance above folks

buffalo

brayblue24 wrote: »

By way of update I did not engage a solicitor and as the insurance company didn't appear to want to engage I lodged a claim with the Injuries Board. Within 24 hours of their receiving notification I had the insurance company on wanting to deal direct. Another day on from that and the figure was agreed upon.

Thanks for the assistance above folks

wow, and here I am nearly a couple of weeks shy of a year on, still waiting and seeing. Was expecting to hear from the Injuries Board this week, but nothing yet.

kennM

buffalo wrote: »

wow, and here I am nearly a couple of weeks shy of a year on, still waiting and seeing. Was expecting to hear from the Injuries Board this week, but nothing yet.

Every case is unique.... some are short and sweet.... some drag on. I'm a couple of months shy of 4 years at this stage.

Wishbone Ash

In my last accident I dealt directly with the motorist's insurance company. It was relatively easy and hassle free. I requested that my claim be divided between material damages and personal injury. They compensated me for material damages (bike, Garmin, lights clothing, helmet) within a few weeks.

Personal injuries compensation obviously took longer and was made several months later after submitting medical reports, ongoing OPD reports etc.

I found their representative very easy to deal with. He did all the chasing and was anxious to settle. That suited my position as I was in no hurry to settle.

brayblue24

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

In my last accident I dealt directly with the motorist's insurance company. It was relatively easy and hassle free. I requested that my claim be divided between material damages and personal injury. They compensated me for material damages (bike, Garmin, lights clothing, helmet) within a few weeks.

Personal injuries compensation obviously took longer and was made several months later after submitting medical reports, ongoing OPD reports etc.

I found their representative very easy to deal with. He did all the chasing and was anxious to settle. That suited my position as I was in no hurry to settle.

Mine followed an identical pattern as it happens